Christmas cheer
by Immortal Spud Thief
Summary: A short christmas fic that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. Can't really describe it without giving it away but it's fluffy and very cheesy..like most of my fics.


**A short oneshot set around Christmas time :)**

**xxx**

* * *

"Nikki please" Victor Alexander begged his daughter as she turned away from him and shook her head "It's Christmas, I just need the money to..."

"I don't care what you need any sort of money for" Nikki snapped as she whirled around to look at him, very well aware of the people in the Lyell Centre reception looking at them both. "You're not getting any off me"

"Nikki..."

"No" Nikki told him as she pushed her hair away from her face, some of the stray curls falling down again where they didn't reach. She then saw Harry walk into the centre and brush snow off his coat, her heart jumping in her chest as she saw him and a small smile threatened to cross her face when he looked up at her a smiled. "Now I think you should leave" she addressed her father again who sighed.

"Nik.."

"I think Nikki wants you to leave"

Victor turned to see Harry standing next to him, a stern look on the pathologist's face as he nodded towards the double doors. The older man got the message and sighed loudly, turning to say something to his daughter but she turned away from him and began to walk towards the corridor that led to the stairs to the labs. Victor glanced at Harry and then turned to walk out of the centre into the falling snow outside.

Harry made sure he had gone before walking over to the security desk.

"Harry what can I do for you?" Jeff, the guard on duty, asked Harry with a warm smile.

"That man who was talking with Nikki" Harry started and Jeff nodded "I don't want him in this building again"

"I'll see what I can do" Jeff smiled and nodded, Harry patting him on the arm, the pathologist knowing that the man's words meant that he'd keep Victor Alexander out.

"Thank you" Harry nodded before turning and following the path that his best friend took. He quickly jogged up the stairs and found Nikki sitting on one of the chairs outside the labs staring at the floor. "Hi" he said softly as he walked over and sat down next to her, making no attempt to touch his best friend who was wringing her gloved hands in her lap.

"Hi" Nikki smiled softly at him "Thank you for getting rid of him"

"Well I always try and help a woman in distress" Harry smirked and Nikki giggled, making her best friend's heart jump, happy that he had cheered her up slightly. "What did he want?"

"The usual, money" Nikki shook her head and leant back on the chair, taking her gloves off as she spoke "You know for once I want him to come back and say that he wants to see me because I'm his daughter and he loves me but.." she trailed off tearfully and looked away from Harry, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

Harry sighed and reached over to cover one of her hands with his gloved one before moving a bit closer to her and resting his arm on the back of her chair, resisting the urge to play with a curl of her hair. He hated how Nikki's father hurt her every time he showed up and Harry himself had to pick up the pieces. Not that he minded being Nikki's metaphorical knight in shining armour; he just wished that he didn't have to sometimes because he hated seeing her hurt and upset.

"He just doesn't know what he's lost" Harry told her and Nikki turned back to him and smiled slightly "He's an idiot. I told Jeff to make sure he doesn't enter the building again"

"Thank you" Nikki whispered and leant into Harry, resting her head on his chest and making the male pathologist smile. "For looking after me. I know I don't deserve it sometimes"

"You don't deserve to get hurt" Harry corrected her as he continued to resist the urge to play with her hair, draping his arm around her shoulders as Nikki snuggled closer to him. "And I'll always be here for you when you need me. I promise"

"What? Even when you've met a nice woman, married her and had children with her? You're not going to want to listen to your spinster ex-best friend moaning about how crap her life is" Nikki muttered bitterly and Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

"I have no idea where you go that idea from but okay" he laughed and heard Nikki chuckle "I doubt that I'll be marrying someone anytime soon" he told her 'Unless you want to' he thought and then continued to speak "And that means there won't be any children and you definitely won't be a spinster, not will that line of men waiting for you" Harry joked and Nikki giggled loudly, his heart clenching painfully at the thought of her with another man. "And finally you won't be my ex-best friend, you'll always be my best friend"

"Really?" Nikki asked as she looked up at him and smiled.

"Really. Who else will put up with my terrible music and film tastes every Friday night?"

"True" Nikki laughed as she moved away from him and wiped her face, both of them feeling the loss of the other as she did so "Thank you Harry" she murmured as she stood up and kissed him on the cheek, both of them trying to ignore the spark that shot through them when she did so. "You're a brilliant friend"

"Friend" Harry muttered bitterly as Nikki turned and grabbed her bag, missing what he said.

Leo watched his two friends from his office and shook his head, turning back to his laptop as he continued to write an e-mail to the head of the faculty telling him that the three pathologists would be attending the Christmas dinner and dance in two weekends time. Now all he had to do was convince Harry to go, and to do something about his pining for their blonde co-worker.

* * *

"Well you definitely don't have to worry about being a spinster" Harry told Nikki those two weekends later as the two of them stood by the bar, the dinner over and the dancing just starting. "I can see at least three men right now who are looking at you like you're a piece of meat"

Nikki giggled as she leant on the bar, both of them waiting for their drinks. They had put away a fair amount already and were both feeling the effects of it, neither was drunk but they were a bit tipsy. Nikki turned away as the barman came back with their drinks and Harry ran his eyes over her for what seemed like the millionth time that evening. She was wearing a knee length red dress that hugged her curves perfectly but wasn't too tight. The arms were a silver material that was crisscrossed with the same red material as the dress and the front was low cut but not too indecent. It gave men a peak that left them wanting more but nothing else. Her hair was in its natural curled state, some of it pulled back into a clip at the back of Nikki's head and the rest falling down to frame her face. Harry felt his mouth go dry every time he looked at her.

"Your drink" Nikki told him as she handed him his beer, her own cocktail in her hand. "Come on" she added as he took it from her "I need some air"

Harry smiled as she grabbed his arm and led him towards one of the exits, not missing the jealous looks that some of the men were giving him as their minds ran to the wrong conclusions.

"When you said air I didn't think you meant frozen air" Harry joked as Nikki led him out of the main building and into the snow outside. She just giggled and put her glass down on one of the snow covered tables, leaning back against the wall and looking around the large garden that the hall was situated in.

"Are you having a good time?" Nikki asked Harry suddenly and he put his beer glass down next to hers, smiling and nodding as he turned to look at her.

"Yes I am" Harry smiled and nodded, realising how close they were standing when the fog from their breaths mingled in the air. "Are you?"

Nikki grinned and nodded back at him, looking past him and into the garden again. Harry felt the alcohol guiding him as he placed his hand on Nikki's cheek, surprise at how cold it was.

"You're freezing" he murmured as he stroked her cheek with his thumb and heard Nikki let out a short breath "We should go in"

"No" Nikki told him quickly and placed one hand on his arm "No I just want some time with you"

Harry wasn't sure if it was Nikki or the alcohol talking but he had seen her tipsy enough times to believe that it was Nikki talking. He smiled and nodded, continuing to stroke her cheek as she leant her head back on the wall. Harry then stepped closer and Nikki moved her arms so they were looped around his neck, smiles on both their faces as he leant down and pressed his lips to hers in a quick but soft kiss.

"This sort of time?" he murmured against her lips as he brushed another soft kiss over them, tasting Nikki's drink.

"Yes" Nikki whispered and kissed him again, Harry's hands going to her waist and wrapping around her back as he stepped even closer to her.

They kissed softly for a few minutes, neither of them in any hurry to rush their first proper kisses. When Nikki drew back from him her cheeks were red and Harry wasn't sure if it was from the cold or their kisses. She giggled and Harry's heart jumped in his chest when he heard the sound. They had seemed so natural together and Harry hoped that Nikki didn't reject him, he didn't think he could cope if that happened.

"We should go back in" she sighed, feeling herself shivering and Harry nodded. Nikki moved past him and carefully took her glass off the table, doing the same with Harry's and handing him his beer as she sipped her drink.

"Only because you're cold" Harry told her as they walked towards the door and opened it, walking back into the warmth, closing the door behind them again and walking back towards the hall where Christmas music was blaring out. "Come here" he then smirked and grabbed Nikki's hand pulling her back to him and making her laugh loudly. "Ssh" he chuckled and took her drink from her, putting it on one of the chairs in the hallway and pushing her up against the wall, covering her mouth with his again. This kiss was more passionate than the last and Nikki placed her hands on his cheeks as she allowed him to deepen the kiss for the first time, both of them moaning at the new sensations that flew about their bodies. Harry wrapped one arm around Nikki's back, the other on her hip as he took control of the kiss. Nikki moaned quietly as he did so and ran one hand through Harry's hair.

They broke the kiss when the need for air became apparent and Harry leant his forehead on Nikki's, both of them breathing heavily and chuckling quietly.

"You're a bad influence on me Dr Cunningham" Nikki whispered as she leant her head back against the wall and tried to regain her normal breathing. Harry smirked proudly at her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"You're so addictive" he told her quietly and Nikki blushed "And have I told you how amazingly beautiful you are this evening?" he added as he moved his forehead away from hers and looked down at the dress that she was wearing.

"Thank you" Nikki smiled and Harry pressed a kiss to her jaw line, testing his boundaries as he made his way down to her neck "Harry no" she giggled and he sighed, moving away from her and nodding in understanding "It's not that I don't want you to. It's just going to be very hard to cover any marks wearing this dress"

"Oh yes" Harry smirked and looked down at her cleavage "It's not covering that much is it?"

"Harry" Nikki laughed as she pushed away from him and picked up her drink, downing the rest of it as Harry picked up his beer "Do you like it though?"

"I love it" Harry nodded as he downed the rest of his beer as quickly as possible and left the glass on a table in the hallway where other glasses were left as well, Nikki putting her glass there too. "As does every other man in that room" he pointed towards the doors that they were about to go through and Nikki giggled, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she walked back into the room, Harry following quickly and making sure it didn't look like they had just been kissing. Those in the room who knew them however knew that they were best friends so seeing them walking back into the room together didn't set off any warning bells. Leo however watched them from across the room as they walked over to him and knew something was different about the way his two colleges were acting around each other. He put it down to either alcohol or something else. He hoped it was the something else.

* * *

"So do I get a dance?" Harry whispered in Nikki's ear at the end of the night, or technically the beginning of the morning, as the DJ put on a slow dance for all the couples and some of the still drunk people who were dancing drunkenly with friends.

"Oh I don't know" Nikki feigned thought as she saw Leo and Janet walk to the dance floor "Other people might take it the wrong way"

"Oh really?" Harry asked and Nikki nodded, not restating him as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck gently "That would be terrible"

"Hmm" Nikki nodded as she leant her head back on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Can I have this dance Dr Alexander?" Harry whispered into her neck and Nikki smiled as she opened her eyes and nodded, turning in his arms and then taking his hand in hers.

"Yes you may Dr Cunningham" she grinned happily as Harry led her over to the dance floor, wrapping his arms around her waist as Nikki leant her head on his chest.

They were both very well aware of eyes on them, those people who worked with them most days, Leo and Janet, the police officers who they worked with all exchanged looks amongst themselves, some happy for the new couple, others deflating in annoyance when they saw the beautiful blonde pathologist dancing with the man that they couldn't compete with even if they tried.

"We're getting looks" Harry told Nikki quietly as he gently moved some hair away from her face and leant down to kiss her forehead.

"Do you care?"

"No"

"Good" Nikki murmured and closed her eyes as Harry looked up and saw Leo looking at them over the top of Janet's head. The older man smiled and nodded, Harry smiling back before looking back down at the woman in his arms as she looked up at him. "Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas" Harry laughed quietly, lovingly, and kissed her softly on the lips.

* * *

**I'm so excited that it's almost Christmas :D I can't wait for all the food and the smells and the food and the...food...wait...:P**

**Hope you enjoyed this little fic :)**

**xxx**


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